Video Transcript
Welcome to a brand new episode of Wout of the World. And in this video, you’ll see us at the south coast of Australia, near Melbourne.
This year, we do the big lap around Australia with a four-wheel drive camper van of WA Experts. After the North and East Coast, we arrived in Victoria to start the south coast.
In the previous episode, we explored Wilsons Prom. This green peninsula was an animal paradise.
That’s it for Wilson’s prom. And we love the wildlife.
We saw everything we wanted to see. So now on to Melbourne.
We did see all of those animals, and pretty satisfied, we continued to the big city.
We have dinner and say goodbye to the lovely campsite of Yanakie Park. Drive for about three hours and experience quite a change of scenery.
Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria, and it’s the second most populous city in all of Australia after Sydney.
The Metropolitan area is known as Greater Melbourne and has about 5.2 million people. It’s also known as the cultural capital of Australia, so there are many beautiful sites to see, and we begin at the Shrine of Remembrance.
This Greek-style monument was built in 1934 to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I. But it now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war.
This city is a combination of stunning modern architecture and a vibrant arts scene.
It’s also the event capital of Australia, with over 8,000 exhibitions and festivals every year.
Melbourne was founded in 1835 by early settlers coming from Tasmania.
It’s the most southern city of the world with more than a million people.
It is also nicknamed the Garden City because of all the parks. We drive into the city and enjoy art and great architecture everywhere we look.
And did you know that Melbourne has been crowned the most livable city in the world for seven years in a row?
I want to live here.
Melbourne has been home to some of Australia’s most famous writers, and is therefore a designated UNESCO city of literature.
We arrive in the Arts Precinct with all the cultural sites, and just outside of the National Gallery of Victoria, we already get soaked in Melbourne culture.
Next, we cross the Princess Bridge into the central business district and look out over the Yarra River. Just across, we also find world famous Flinders Street Train Station.
Melbourne is a city that’s also famous for the lively street art, and you will find it in a place called Hosier Lane, but also in the rest of the city.
Everywhere you look, you can find beautiful paintings on the walls.
These streets are incredible. You don’t know what you see when you walk around here.
From the busiest train station south of the equator, we see Saint Paul’s Cathedral and many other famous buildings of Melbourne.
For me, personally, the most beautiful building of the city is the Forum of Melbourne.
We passed the Old Treasury Building and see the famous old Trams all around.
Another great place for street art is Meyers Place, where you feel right down in the rainforest. Cool.
This part of the city reminds us a bit of New York, with iconic skyscrapers like the Manchester Unity Building and other historical buildings blending in with modern business towers.
Of course, there’s also good shopping in Melbourne. You can do so here in the Royal Arcade. Quite the experience.
At the entrance, we see mythical giants, Gog and Magog, who seriously remind me of Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones. At last, we passed the Mission of Seafarers building and leave the centre to find a nice camping spot.
What an adventure in the big city of Melbourne. We had to look for a campsite, but it wasn’t that hard because we found one in one of the 31 municipalities. Because this big city has actually smaller municipalities that are all spread around Melbourne. And one of them is here in Berwick. And this campsite is only $35, which is about 20 US bucks. And now we just have to wait for the sun before we move on with the camper van.
We find plenty of sun and decide to see the area. After some sports and play time, we find one of the most adventurous city parks that has more wild nature than I expected.
How cool is this? We’re in Melbourne, in the suburbs, and there’s a park here, Cardinia Street Park, which actually has the Platypus. It lives here.
There’s a river, so I’m looking for it.
Hey. Oh, no, it’s just a duck. And we spot Eastern Rosellas.
Only in Australia. I’m looking for that Platypus in a park that actually has playgrounds for the kids, and I stumble upon a Red-bellied black snake.
Which is highly venomous.
They can be fatal, actually, in a city park. Moving on.
After many other birds, we spot kookaburras, too.
Here we go, where we go again. Trying hard, but you want to be my friend.
And this cute little Possum. In a place too high. Before we drive our holiday home on wheels out of Melbourne along the south coast.
That’s it, unfortunately, for this episode in the Melbourne area.
But we’re moving on going down south to the Great Ocean Road, one of the nicest highways to drive in all of Australia. And first, we’re going to have some chicken now. See you next time. Real Australian chicken.
Be sure to watch next time. Here we go, where we go again.
For Australia’s most scenic road trip.
And much more, so be sure to subscribe too. Ciao.
Wout of the World
Online travel show in Dutch and English with World traveler and actor Wout of the World. In dozens of episodes Wout takes you out for adventure all over the world, always in the most budget-friendly way. Enjoy over 120 countries from your couch, phone or the computer.